Last weekend, I visited lovely Monterey, California to check out Whalefest Monterey, an annual celebration of marine science hosted by the town's Fisherman's Wharf Association.
In the course of reporting a story about leatherback sea turtles that I wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, I learned that leatherback hatchlings, which start life small enough to fit in your palm, grow up into adult turtles that can weigh as much as a ton. Turns out leatherbacks are seasonal visitors to California's coast, which was news to me, though their numbers are dwindling rapidly and they're considered critically endangered.
To learn why paying attention to the source of the swordfish you eat could help leatherbacks make a comeback, check out my newspaper story here.
A leatherback hatchling makes its way to the ocean.
(Image by Ken Clifton via Flickr; creative commons license)